OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
EDITORIAL
Remembering Liz Davis, Honoring Bill Simons
Condolences continue to pour in over the passing of Washington Teacher’s Union President Elizabeth Davis, who died April 6 – Easter Sunday – in a car crash on Route 301 in Bowie, Maryland. Davis, 70, was a firebrand, and a no-nonsense advocate for D.C. public school children, their teachers, and their parents. The union she was first elected to serve in 2013, and reelected in 2019, credited Davis for the WTU’s “transformation into a social justice, solution-driven organization.” Her passion for “advancing and promoting quality education for all children,” irrespective of their zip codes or test scores, drew admiration from a broad range of individuals across all sectors. Before Davis, the WTU experienced ongoing turmoil within its leadership, repeatedly challenged for not providing educational opportunities and access for all students. A former classroom teacher for more than four decades and as a member of the WTU before becoming president, she proved her mettle by challenging the school system’s chancellors for actions she believed would result in inequitable treatment of Black teachers and students. Originally from North Carolina, Davis moved with her family to D.C. when she was in the third grade. In high school, she was an activist. She organized a school walkout at Eastern High School, where she attended, over the curriculum’s lack of African American History and culture. But it is no wonder she took the path of resistance as a school leader following in the footsteps of another WTU firebrand, William Simons, WTU’s first president, who served for more than 25 years. Simons was known for his “militant” stand on issues, and he would threaten and carry through on plans to organize teachers’ strikes and marches to demand better pay for D.C. teachers. He fought policies that set teachers up for failure and initiatives that had a deleterious effect on students. Simons died December 7, 2016, in Atlanta. He was 92. Born in an era and growing up in another that leaves one no choice but to fight for educational equity are the choices both Simons and Davis made. And, for those who call themselves proud DCPS graduates, much is owed to these two who were dedicated firebrands on their behalf. WI
No Justice, No Peace
Reverend Al Sharpton and Attorney Ben Crump held a press conference in New York, this week to address the separate cases of the George Floyd and Duante Wright’s police-involved killings in Minneapolis. Floyd’s killer, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is currently on trial for first, second, and third-degree murder. The blue shield that too often protects cops from punishment for their wanton acts is no longer there as numerous of his former colleagues lined up over the past two weeks to testify against him. As for Wright, not only has the veteran female police officer resigned after shooting the 20-year-old by “accident,” as she called it but her boss, the chief of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, resigned, too. The investigations that will follow will more than likely result in a trial with another cop attempting to defend her acts, including multiple failures to follow police procedures as pointed out by former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey, who reports regularly on the police shooting incidents on CNN. What Sharpton and Crump addressed does not heal the pain of the mothers and fathers, siblings, and friends who’ve lost a loved one by a policeman’s bullet. As Wright’s and Floyd’s family convey, they want justice, but they would rather have their loved ones alive instead. Not only are Black American’s debating the issue of justice, but others’ eyes are opening, and now they, too, are questioning if there is justice for the Black man or woman in America. Black Americans are on edge, and once again, just like in Minneapolis, cities across the country are powder kegs for protests and violence in reaction to these repeated injustices. The skills needed to manage a police-involved situation don’t exist for those who all too often end up with a gun in their face for minor infractions that they are not allowed to explain. Even a military uniform is no defense against a cop with a gun and a badge. President Biden called the killing of Duante Wright “tragic” but said, “I think we’ve got to wait and see what the investigation shows — the entire investigation.” It’s taken decades to get an investigation for the murder of Black people, and their patience is too thin to wait and see. A change has got to come now. WI
TO THE EDITOR Rest in Paradise
Soldier for Justice
I was heartbroken to read about the death of Washington Teachers' Union President Elizabeth Davis. What a force she was. Every time she spoke, she always had something poignant and touching to say. She was a fighter, warrior and a powerful voice for education that will be cherished and missed.
I'm proud of the work Tony Lewis Jr. is doing to bring attention to his father's clemency plight. I pray that the work pays off. It's truly an injustice to sit behind bars for life for a nonviolent crime. He has paid his debt to society! Free Tony Lewis.
Debra Cunningham Bowie, Md.
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